Publisher THQ has revealed through a recent SEC filing, that UFC Undisputed 4 was in development before they sold their exclusive UFC license to Electronic Arts. The decision was made by THQ after UFC Undisputed 3 failed to break even in sales, with the series as a whole seeing a year-on-year decrease in sales since its debut in 2009.

UFC Undisputed 3 had a break-even point of two million copies sold, it only sold 1.4 million copies and failed to reach this target even after strong initial sales when released in February. Unfortunately the transfer of the UFC license had its casualties, with an unspecified number of workers losing their jobs in THQ’s San Diego studio, the publisher expected to pay out $1.1m in severance packages to those affected.

The decision to sell the license to Electronic Arts brought some much-needed cash in and allows more focus on games they expect to sell greater than the MMA series. Obsidian Entertainment’s, South Park: The Stick Of Truth is one of those games, with it being a low-cost Triple-A title, it’s less of a worry if things go south, aha see what I did there.

It will be exciting to see what direction Electronic Arts take the UFC franchise, with experience in the online department and community features, we could see a massive overhaul of the game’s structure and possibilities of including the Frostbite 2.0 engine into development. UFC president Dana White said it perfectly at E3 last week, “This is a great day for EA Sports but also a great day for fight fans.”

When not fighting crime, I dabble in the art of online journalism. Alright, maybe it's not as exciting as headbutting everyday felons like a modern Bruce Wayne, but I need something that doesn't involve bludgeoning something. Get my kicks playing on a fat 80gb PS3, really need an upgrade......and a shave.